Paris struggles with tourism slump as Olympics approach
30 July 2024 07:33
At least 3 million foreign tourists were expected to visit Paris for the Olympic Games. It would be good if half of them arrive, writes "Rzeczpospolita," emphasizing that it is a "business failure." Hotel owners admit that they made a mistake by hiking up prices. Now, they are lowering them to minimise losses.
The organisation Paris je T'aime, which promotes tourism in the French capital, forecasts that by the end of the Games, a total of 11.3 million people will visit the city. The stadiums will be filled, and the owners of cheap accommodations won't complain either. "Only 1.5 million of the visitors are foreigners who stay in five-star hotels, go to museums, and dine in expensive restaurants," we read.
Air France has already calculated losses due to low demand at €180 million (about £157 million). "Today, a ticket to Paris costs half of what one would spend on a trip to the French capital after the Olympic Games," it added. American airline Delta reports £87 million in lost revenue because their passengers bypass Paris. - If someone is flying to Paris today, it's only for the Games. No one else is planning to travel there right now - said Ed Bastian, CEO of the American carrier, on CNBC.
Tourists are avoiding Paris widely
Traffic at Charles de Gaulle Airport is 15% lower compared to July 2023, "which has dropped as much as in the Middle East, where there is a war between Israel, Hamas, and Hezbollah." Meanwhile, the average increase in traffic in Europe is 24%.
The newspaper emphasizes that businessmen and tourists avoiding cities where the Olympics are held has been a repeated scenario for years. This was the case in Athens, London, and Atlanta, unlike the case of the Euro 2024 football championship or the Wimbledon tennis tournament.
It was supposed to be different because - as we read - hotels hiked up prices, restaurants planned to squeeze in the maximum number of tables, and bars extended their list of Olympic drinks and bought wines. "Stores were not preparing for sales because tourists were supposed to not only watch the competitions but also shop, and airlines were preparing additional flights to Paris," writes "Rz".
They expected profits, but will come out of the Games with losses
Alan Bachand, the owner of an agency organising sporting events and accompanying parties, "missed out" on the Olympics. As we read, he block-booked hotel rooms 30 months in advance to sell them in packages. And now he's left with them.
- We had to pay £775 per night for a hotel, while it normally cost £310. And if we paid a lot, we expected high earnings - he said, quoted by the newspaper. He realised that something was wrong a little over three months before the Games.
- No one was calling, and everyone started drastically lowering prices, so I joined them. I'll break even if I manage to sell another 100 nights - he added.
Hotel owners also state they miscalculated and made a mistake.
To avoid losses, we are lowering prices. We made a mistake by hiking them at the beginning of the year – said Gilles Le Bras, director of Orso Hotels, on France 24.
Small restaurants and stores are in a similar situation, facing bankruptcy. The Paris j'Taime organisation confirms these observations and raises the alarm.
Despite these great forecasts, business has been in decline since June. Many tourism-related companies have seen a 30% drop in revenue compared to the same period in previous years, and in some restaurants located near key points in the city, traffic has dropped by as much as 70% - stated in the announcement.
How much will France spend on the Paris Olympics?
What went wrong? The tourism industry complains about restrictions, the need to register, and the requirement to show QR codes as passes to city zones. France's weather, inflation, and post-election landscape don't help either. All of this together has caused "catastrophic economic consequences."
These are supposed to be the cheapest Olympics of this century so far. The French will spend around £8.8 billion on them, while the event in Tokyo costs £12.1 billion. As "Rz" writes, Paris or France did not need this for promotion because they are tourist magnets on their own. Last year, Paris and the surrounding area were visited by 47 million tourists. However, according to the French, the money was supposedly worth spending. "Because although they forgot about the political crisis plaguing their country for a moment. And which will return the moment the Olympic flame goes out," we read.
